Too late to Major in Mathematics

I earned my B.A. in Sociology in 1994. Since then, I have not been able to land a decent paying job. I am now working as a security guard. I have to be honest, though. I selected sociology as a major for the wrong reason ( needed a quick route out of college). My passion is not sociology but mathematics.

I totally dislike the jobs connected to sociology (social worker, welfare case worker, counselor, etc). I greatly doubt that my B.A. will do anything for me today considering that I am 44 years old. If I decide to take out a loan and major in math, what can a math degree do for me now? If I go back to college, I will not be graduating with a math degree for a few more years, which means I will be older. Employers look at age, right?

" If I go back to college, I will not be graduating with a math degree for a few more years, which means I will be older."

And if you DON'T go back to school? How old will you be then?


"Employers look at age, right?"

Why assume that you will be working for someone else? You could start your own business: tutoring, accountant, consultant, etc.

Stop the negative thoughts. You sound capable of fufilling your dreams. Stop talking yourself out of moving ahead.

nycfunction wrote:

I earned my B.A. in Sociology in 1994. Since then, I have not been able to land a decent paying job. I am now working as a security guard. I have to be honest, though. I selected sociology as a major for the wrong reason ( needed a quick route out of college). My passion is not sociology but mathematics.

I totally dislike the jobs connected to sociology (social worker, welfare case worker, counselor, etc). I greatly doubt that my B.A. will do anything for me today considering that I am 44 years old. If I decide to take out a loan and major in math, what can a math degree do for me now? If I go back to college, I will not be graduating with a math degree for a few more years, which means I will be older. Employers look at age, right?

When you majored in Sociology, what did you think the result would be? Were you after all those high paying sociology jobs?

Even a Math degree isn't a direct route into a lot of high paying jobs, although it's worlds better than Sociology. Have you considered an engineering subject for which there is a lot of demand? They always use a lot of math, at least of the part of math known as analysis.

There is always a demand for teachers with the ability to teacher higher end mathematic at the high school level and the pay is better then a security guard at least.

Just what kind of high paying job would you like to have? What you do with a math degree would depend on what you want to do with a math degree. Do you want to teach? Math teachers earn a premium over other teachers because they are in higher demand and there are fewer math majors who want to teach than do other things.

If you go back to college are you looking at a second BA or at a Masters? Sometimes schools don't want to hire Master's degreed teachers into entry level positions.

How do you see yourself using this math degree? You could specialize in finance, statistics, accounting, etc., but I'm not sure how you could turn a vanilla degree in math into a career outside of teaching.

i feel your pain, this tune by dan bern sums up what i'm going through

Too Late To Die Young

The day Elvis died
Was like a mercy killing
America breathed
A sigh of relief
We knew all about the drugs
And the Vegas shows
And there wasn't much of anything

That looked like grief

And I guess he shoulda done
Like James Dean did
'Stead of putting on weight
And sinking down, down, down
Easier to take
If he had just skidded straight
To souvenir city
And T-shirt town

And sometimes I wish
I was smarter that I am
But I'm on my 3rd city
And I'm on my 4th car
And I'm on my 5th apartment
And so many of my days have sprung

And now it's too late to crash
Too late to burn
Too late to die young

If Pete Rose had exploded
Like Roberto Clemente
He'd be hanging in the Hall of Fame
Without fail
Can you name the last good film
Marlon Brando made
While trying to keep his kid
From going to jail
And the old people
On the street are telling you
"Don't become like me"
But every day
You creep a little bit closer

And I guess we shoulda done
Like James Dean did
'Stead of putting on weight
And sinking down, down, down
Easier to take
If he had just skidded straight
To souvenir city
And T-shirt town

And sometimes I wish
I was smarter that I am
But I'm on my 3rd city
And I'm on my 4th car
And I'm on my 5th apartment
And so many of my days have sprung

And now it's too late to crash
Too late to burn
Too late to die young

You could consider math related fields like accounting, statistics or finance.

My father completed his accounting degree while I was in high school, so he was in his late 40's when he made a career change.

I'm in my early 50's now. Just made a slight career direction correction a couple of months ago.

A good employer looks at all the qualifications to find the best candidate.

~~~

I'm not sure what kind of link there is between your original area of study and your inability to find a 'decent paying job'. I suspect there is none.

nyc :
are you sure that math is really your calling ?
if you are sure it is , what are you doing right now to further your education ?
surely you have some spare time to widen your horizon and keep learning .

have you considered a job where you can earn a professional designation (example : accounting - but there are many others ) while you are working and earning money ?

consider making a list of your likes and dislikes , the possibility of getting a job etc. and start some matching .
just getting a math degree without a real goal in mind , may put you back where you are now .
i've known people with ph.d's that never used their degrees because it turned out that they had no interest in working in the field they studied for .

so BEFORE you go back to university to study math : STUDY YOURSELF !

know where you want to go and how to get there BEFORE starting out on the journey - and know what you are going to do once you reach your target .
and always keep in mind that you may have to choose an alternate route (or professsion) if the road ahead is blocked for some reason .
good luck !
hbg

I have to work, pay bills and child support. When do I go back to school, midnight?

In NY State, it is really hard to become a teacher. For me, I would have to complete an entire math program, take at least 18 credits in secondary education, get state certified (pass a bunch of exams that are not easy and very expensive) and earn a Master's Degree just to begin searching for a job as a teacher of high school mathematics. I have to work, pay bills and child support. When do I go back to school, midnight?

Very cute but my life is not a bed of roses.